Earlier this year, author and screenwriter Suzanne Collins released her long-awaited novel “Sunrise on the Reaping,” the second prequel to her original “The Hunger Games” trilogy. The book, which was released internationally on March 18, 2025, dives into similar themes—including the power of propaganda and government manipulation—as previous novels, while giving readers new insight that allows them to sympathize with once misunderstood characters.
Fans of the primary series must remember Haymitch Abernathy, Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark’s careless and sarcastic mentor from District 12. At the start of “The Hunger Games” novel, he comes across as unreliable and appears to be of little value to the two 16-year-olds facing their impending deaths. However, as the 74th Hunger Games—and the series as a whole—progresses, Abernathy turns out to be more tactical than he’s originally made out to be.
Abernathy ends up playing a key role in dismantling the totalitarian regime that holds Panem in a vice. He strategized Everdeen’s arena escape in “Catching Fire” and worked closely with the victors in “Mockingjay.” Fans were captivated by Abernathy’s cleverness and unique character in the original trilogy, so a book told from his point of view going into the 50th Hunger Games was highly anticipated.
“Sunrise on the Reaping” was announced by Scholastic Press on June 6, 2024 and saw record-breaking numbers upon its publication. In its first week of sales alone, the novel sold more than 1.2 million English copies worldwide and became the year’s No. 3 bestseller in the U.S., as noted by Publishers Weekly.
However, this should come as no surprise, as readers around the world highly praised the book. In fact, two Canyon High School students, senior Kayleigh Behar and sophomore Cindy Orozco, both read and loved the new novel. Journalism student Emory Crawford got the chance to interview them together about their thoughts.
Behar expressed, “I thought this prequel did a really good job of expanding not only on Haymitch’s character but the world of Panem as a whole 24 years before the trilogy took place.”
Orozco agreed with Behar, claiming, “I didn’t understand why he acted the way he did at the start; however, after reading ‘Sunrise on the Reaping,’ I was able to sympathize with his character.”
As stated earlier, the novel follows Abernathy and how he wins the Second Quarter Quell一a special Hunger Games celebrating 50 years of the games, in which double the number of tributes are reaped from each district. Throughout the story, readers learn about the extreme challenges Abernathy faced, not only from the arena itself, but also from the Capitol’s manipulation. In addition, unlike the other tributes and their games, Abernathy’s victory required sharp intelligence that helped him outwit the Gamemakers.
Characters from the second novel, “Catching Fire,” make a reappearance in “Sunrise on the Reaping.” Mags, Beetee, and Wiress were all important characters in this prequel and played key roles in the fall of Panem’s government.
“Everything ended up connecting back to the original trilogy,” as Orozco puts it, “which is pretty cool if you ask me.”
Like all of the other books in the series, “Sunrise on the Reaping” will also be turned into a movie. In fact, the novel and its adapted film were both announced within hours of each other. The movie is set to be released on Nov. 20, 2026, with Australian actor Joseph Zada playing the lead role of Haymitch Abernathy.
For anyone interested in reading “Sunrise on the Reaping,” you can check out the novel in person at the Canyon Library or online through Sora, our digital library.
